Law and reality in publishing (seldom the same thing) from the author's side of the slush pile, with occasional forays into politics, military affairs, censorship and the First Amendment, legal theory, and anything else that strikes me as interesting.

The Red-Tide Oyster Stuffing Award for carelessly poisoning an otherwise tasty dish goes to the Democratic candidates for President. I should be happy that George III will be leaving. But one of these yobs is the likely successor?

The Broken Wishbone Award for shattering dreams goes to George III for his pardon of 'Scooter' Libby. I had this dream that the law applies to everyone.

The Golden Gristle Award for assertions far too difficult to digest (and usually stuck in one's teeth) goes to the Discovery Institute for its continued assertions that:

Inscrutable Intelligent design is not merely "creationism" dressed up to evade Edwards;

ID is scientific in its basis;

ID need not satisfy the same burden of proof that evolutionary theory must satisfy; and

Yes, as a matter of fact I am hostile to teaching bad dogma and mythology as science to students who do not have the knowledge or experience to know better. Did you really have to ask?

The Crabapple Pie Award for marketing something sour as something sweet goes to sales-and-marketing dorks everywhere  especially those who try to sell things without first-hand knowledge of their value.

The Brussels Sprout Award for stinky, slimy, overcooked, gentrified little cabbages goes to the Dishon. Lamar Smith (R-TX) for attempting to introduce the Tsarist secret police to the 'net. Of course, that's only one example of why he qualifies as a "ridiculous person."

The Dried-Out Breastmeat Award for overcooking the books goes to Michael Cieply for this astoundingly ignorant piece on the WGA strike, which manages to avoid asking two critical questions. First, if the pie is so small, why do film-business and TV-business executives make so much money? The best estimates available indicate that the top seven studio heads alone made more last year in bonuses (not salary) than the total that would have been paid to WGA members under the formula proposed in July. Second, there's the question of why stars demand gross participation deals in the first place. Perhaps it's because crooked accounting means there will be no "profits" to split. Perhaps Cieply's past as a producer at Sony harmed his objectivity...

The Rancid Drumstick Award for something that should be edible, but isn't, goes to the World Anti-Doping Agency for pretending that it accords athletes with something resembling due process. I'm not thoroughly convinced either way in the Greg Landis matter... and that should have been enough to return a finding of "not proven."

The Fine Print

Ritual disclaimer: This blog contains legal commentary, but it is only general commentary. It does not constitute legal advice for your situation. It does not create an attorney-client relationship or any other expectation of confidentiality, nor is it an offer of representation.

I approve of no advertising appearing on or through syndication for anything other than the syndication itself; any such advertising violates the limited reuse license implied by voluntarily including syndication code on this blawg, and I do not approve aggregators and syndicators whose page design reflects only an intent to use the reference(s) to this blawg without actually providing the content from this blawg.

Internet link sausages, as frequently appear here, are gathered from uninspected meaty internet products and byproducts via processes you really, really don't want to observe; spiced with my own secret, snarky, sarcastic blend; quite possibly extended with sawdust or other indigestibles; and stuffed into your monitor (instead of either real or artificial casings). They're sort of like "link salad" or "pot pourri" or "miscellaneous musings" (or, for that matter, "making law"), but far more disturbing.

I am not responsible for any changes to your lipid counts or blood pressure from consuming these sausages... nor for your monitor if you insist on covering them with mash or sauce.

Blog Archive

Warped Weft

Now live at the new site. I have arranged some of the more infamous threads that have appeared here by unravelling them from the blawg tapestry (and hopefully eliminating some of the sillier typos). Sometimes, the threads have been slightly reordered for clarity.

Other Blawgs, Blogs, and Journals

These may be of interest; I do not necessarily agree with opinions expressed in them, although the reasoning and writing are almost always first-rate (and represent a standard seldom, if ever, achieved in "mainstream" journalism). I'm picky, and have eclectic tastes, so don't expect a comprehensive listing.

How Appealing is aimed at appellate lawyers and legal news in general. If you care about the state of the law, start here — Howard's commentary is far better balanced, better informed, and better considered than any of the media outlets. To concentrate on the US Supreme Court, don't forget SCOTUSBlog.

Some academics' blawgs with a variety of political (and doctrinal) viewpoints:

The main European IP blawg of interest remains the UK-based IPKat, on a variety of intellectual property issues, with some overlap (with a less Eurocentric view) at IPFinance

The American Constitution Society blawg is a purportedly "liberal" counterweight to the so-called "Federalist Society" (which, despite its claims, should be called "Tory Society") that has yet to establish much coherence... but maybe that's all to the good.

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